Bruce Cassidy knew the Golden Knights’ penalty kill needed to be better.
The coach felt the unit was turning a corner three weeks ago, but it still stuck out as one obvious thing the Knights had to tighten up before the playoffs. They rank just 24th in the NHL (76.1 percent).
But the Knights looked sharp in killing all six penalties they took over the weekend in their back-to-back against the Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks. They were a perfect four-for-four in their 3-2 overtime win Saturday in Calgary, then went two-for-two in Sunday’s 3-2 win in Vancouver.
The Knights’ short-handed performance against the Flames was their best in some time. They made third-string goaltender Akira Schmid’s life easy by denying entries into the offensive zone. Calgary finished with two shots on goal in eight minutes of power-play time, while the Knights had four shots on goal on the penalty kill.
The Flames’ best chance didn’t come until their final opportunity when right wing Matt Coronato hit the post on a one-timer.
“It was really good (on Saturday),” Cassidy said. “I thought there wasn’t a whole lot going on. We disrupted up ice well. In-zone, we were patient, jumped on pucks we needed to.”
Saturday’s game featured the type of aggressive play on the penalty kill Cassidy has been looking for. The Knights pressured more up the ice and closed gaps at the defensive blue line, which led to less time spent in their defensive zone.
“We’re trying to put things in place that allow us to do that,” Cassidy said.
The skaters weren’t quite as good Sunday against the Canucks. But the goalie was better.
Adin Hill was excellent in Vancouver. His highlight-reel glove save on center Pius Suter in the second period helped keep the game tied 2-2.
The stop kept things from slipping away from the Knights. The Canucks were on the power play after Cassidy’s failed challenge for goaltender interference on Vancouver’s game-tying goal led to a delay of game penalty.
The Knights, after Hill’s heroics, controlled play the rest of the way. They outshot the Canucks 12-2 in the third period and took the lead for good on left wing Victor Olofsson’s goal with 3:14 remaining.
“It’s kind of nice to get back on the winning side,” left wing Ivan Barbashev said. “To win on a back-to-back, it feels even better.”
The Knights hope they can carry their momentum on the penalty kill into Tuesday’s meeting with the Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena. The Avalanche, thanks to superstars Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar, have the NHL’s eighth-best power play (24.8 percent).
The Knights can be confident that what was once their most glaring issue is rounding into form at the right time. It also helps they don’t rely on their penalty kill often. The Knights’ 438 penalty minutes this season are the fewest in the league, almost half as many as first-place Buffalo (800).
Contact Danny Webster at [email protected]. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.
